CSM101

Dear Nick, my friends from CSI Wladiwostok wanted to see the sword as a whole. Unfortunately one part is missing. Can you make a photo from this part? Thank you! Uwe G.

A great Man has passed. A great loss to the sword society. Uwe G.

Hi Iain, I know a katana with exactly the same hamon. It is a Shinto-Jumiyo. And it is not sambonsugi as mentioned before. It is small-big-small-big.... Sambonsugi is small-big-small-small-big-small...etc Uwe G.

Just a short report from the last meeting: Everything was very fine. Swords, tsuba and koshirae in high quality. Kantei round 1 Nr. 1 was a tanto by Miayiri Akihira/1967. A Rai utsushi. Nr. 2 a katana by Shinto Masateru, Nr. 3 a Katana by Satsuma Motohira and Nr. 4 a katana by Ishido Takatsugu / between 1684 and 1688. Hope, to see you soon. Uwe G.

Carlos, just send it to Japan and get papers. Uwe G.

Okay, it is a wakizashi. But if you compare the first kanji, then you will see, it is not even close to your sword. And the photo of the blade is a sudareba hamon. A hamon Tamba was famous for. And I don´t see any of this in yours. In Fujishiro I can´t find a matching signature. Hence: gimei. Uwe G.

Hi Carlos, sorry to say so, but it is just a fake. Uwe G.

Just another example for Yamato Shizu. Uwe G.

This is THE Nagamitsu.

I liked it very much and I sticked to my answer, because if we are all right, then Brian can close the NMB. And so we all learn, what are the points in shape. And by the way: my new project (Daido/Shizu). Uwe G.

Thought I play a little bit with the details. My guess: 4 is Kamakura, 3 = Nambokucho and 1 and 2 Shinto. Kambun and Keicho. Uwe G.

Thank you for your help! Uwe G.

Hello, got this photo sent by a friend and now he want´s to know: Tsugu or Fuyu. As you can see unfortunately part of the signature is missing. Thanks Uwe G.

Looks like cool stuff. But I don´t do tosogu. f you are looking for the right light source: http://www.ebay.de/itm/NOVOFLEX-MACROLIGHT-PLUS-KALTLICHTLEUCHTE-MAKROLICHT-MAKROBLITZ-/141796133032?hash=item2103b548a8 Best Uwe G.

Just as a reference: a full size HiRes image Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi. Uwe G.

I found this oshigata. Sword is from 1789. Uwe G.

When I compare your sword with the sword from sanmei.com, then I think your sword is not from Suishinshi Masahide. Uwe G.

I think it is no Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi at all. Here is a signature and part of a blade (4. generation) Uwe G.

Just a short reminder, what you did miss! Uwe G.

Here is just a short report for those who could´t be there: At the meeting in Bonn two sword were shown. Both Tokubetsu Juyo. A Shinto katana by Echizen Yasutsugu. And this is, what is like a unicorn. A Shinto sword with Tokubetso Juyo. Some say it is his best sword ever made. The other one was a Rai Kunitsugu tanto. Here is a descrition from the English Token Bijutsu No. 56, "Selected fine Japanese Swords" and a little bit Yamanaka-Newsletter: Nagasa: 27,40 cm, sori:very little, etc. The tanto is hira-zukuri, with mitsu-mune, a broad mihaba, thick kasane, sunnobi and nearly no sori. The kitae is a tight ko-itame-hada, rich in ji-nie with nie-utsuri tatsu. The wide shallow notare-cho hamon is mixed slightly with gunome, and there are ashi, deep nioi and tight ko-nie, with frequent sunagashi and nie-suji. The nioi-guchi is saeru. What really is interestiing is the fact, that the blade has "uruoi" in the steel. That makes the blade feel wet. It comes from the fine quality nie. Rai Kunitsugu is said to be the son of Rai Kunitoshi and the younger brother of Rai Kunimitsu. Existing tachi are rare and most extant works are tanto and short wakizashi. He is considered one of the Masamune Juttetsu, and he is called Kamakura-Rai because of his visible influence of Soshu-den upon his work, for example in the strong nie, the thick ji-nie, and a jigane with jikei. The sugata is typical for the end of the Kamakura-period. Both sugata and jiba typify the work of this smith, and with its excellent deki this totally sound tanto is certanly one of his masterpieces. The blade derives from the Okubo clan, the Lord of Odawara. According to the sales lists of the clan, it came with a origami by Honami Koon, dating from 1665 which evaluated this blade at one hundred gold pieces. A few words to the photo: First of all I have to say "Thank you!" to a certain collector for the opportunity to have a Tokubetso Juyo in front of my lens. :bowdown: The sad news is: I had too much dust on the sensor. And so you can´t see every detail. Especally in the hamon. My fault and I apologize for that. And to YOJIMBO: the NBTHK-EB is a very functional organisation. I was there and I am not even a member. But I want to see the best Japanese swords. And this is one of the best opportunities you ever get in Europe. So, now I need a Glen Moray. And then I plan a trip to Newcastle. Uwe G.

I hope this will answer your question. A photo as a free download: http://daten-transport.de/?id=nza3KxbFhhhP Only a week available. But the best way is to make a printout a lay the photo flat on a table and step back. Then the utsuri will pop out like a rabbit from a hole. Uwe G.

Dear friends of the nihonto! I think most of you know the motto of the british SAS. And I did the same. Means, I asked a collector, if I could have his sword for some photos. But there is a second motto: who shares wins. And now that´s what I´m doing. Sharing the photos. Bizen Kuni Unji - Juyo Token. Enjoy Uwe G.

A sake ladle. Very interesting and Thank you for the answer. Uwe G.

I have a kogai with a strange trumpet on it. Or, what is it...? Thank you for your help. Uwe G.

I once organized two meetings. And after that I got depressed. The first one almost started with a fist fight. Something in the water, bad vibrations, whatever... The second one was better. 12 guests, mostly Martial Arts. Theme: Osaka-Shinto. As far as I remember one guest had a Hidari Mutsu no Kami Kaneyasu. Some of the guests never saw a polished blade before. And I never heard of one of them again. First problem is, even with Markus, all the better books are in English. And after that comes Japanese. Why should people buy books when 20 words, including the koshirae, are more than enough to describe a katana? Next problem: oshigata. Something invited by the Japanese to confuse all others. No photos! With google and wikipedia there must be photos. "Infos within 2 seconds or I´ll be gone." So, what I want to say: collectors, especally long time collectors are dying out. Stamps, coins, books, comics, cards. We all share the same problem. Uwe G.